World Cup ex-pat army heading to the US to follow England this summer

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An ex-pat army of England fans is travelling from around the globe to the World Cup this summer - spending huge sums to see their heroes.

Supporters from as far afield as Australia , Scandinavia, and across Europe will join with Three Lions fans based in the US. Many of them became friends after meeting at the Euro 2020 quarter-final 4-0 victory over Ukraine in Rome in July, 2021. Exeter City fan George Smith, a finance worker, now lives in San Diego, California with his wife Monica and their four children.

He told the Mirror : "There were thousands of ex-pats at that Euros game in Rome and we have kept in touch and will be meeting again this summer. I have friends coming from all over the world including Spain, Scandinavia and Australia.

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"And obviously there will be thousands of ex-pat England fans from across the United States. Many US states especially Florida, California, and New York have huge numbers of British ex-pats.

"England will have a huge army of fans from the US, not to mention all the Premier League fans drawn to the national team. Interest in the Premier League exploded when NBC, one of the major US broadcasters, started to show the live games in 2014."

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George, 42, said bars are "packed" for PL games, with kick off times at 4am and 7am in San Diego. There is also the 'Wrexham effect' after Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, now known as Rob Mac, bought the Welsh side.

George, who is taking his son Charlie, 11, to the games with him. He also plans to take his Mexican-born wife Monica to the famous Azteca stadium (known as the Mexico City stadium at the World Cup) if England meet her native country in the Round of 16.

In total George has spent around $7,000 dollars (£5,178) on tickets for himself and his family. But the bill may rise to £12,000 depending on how far England progress.

Despite travelling 5,500 miles to our home games, he did not earn $60 (£45) tickets offered by FIFA after the backlash at ticket prices.

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George added: "The ticket prices are scandalous. But I do think it has the potential to be the best world cup ever. So many fans here do not have the legal paper work to leave the States. But they will get to see their teams play here.